Lambertville woman assaulted on towpath

WEST AMWELL - A Lambertville woman was seriously injured Thursday night when she was ambushed and assaulted on the Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park towpath, authorities said.

Officials with the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's office said the 47-year-old was jogging on the towpath about a mile south of Lambertville at about 8 p.m. when she was assaulted by a man who dragged her into a wooded area.

"We don't know what the motive for the crime is. It has the appearance of a random act of violence," said Dan Hurley, chief of detectives for the prosecutor's office. "By defending herself as she did, she very well may have saved her life," he said.

The assailant fled south on the towpath after the woman fought him off.

Hurley said she had been beaten severely around the face and head.

She was taken to Hunterdon Medical Center, where she was treated and released.

The suspect is described as an olive-skinned Latino male between 20 and 30 years old, weighing between 140 and 160 pounds, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, with short brown hair. He was dressed in a dark-colored polo shirt.

It is believed that the suspect had been sitting on a bench on the towpath when the victim passed by.

Anyone with information about the attack is asked to contact the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office at (908) 788-1129.
Contact Matt Fair at mfair@njtimes.com or (609)989-5707.